


Those Linked By Destiny

by Leonardo_Charles_BlueWood_21



Category: Lego Ninjago, The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)
Genre: ALRIGHT ENOUGH TAGGING LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED, Alternate Universe - High School, But I kinda blended the personalities of the T.V show and the movie together, Cole gets kicked in the face, First Meetings, For like four seconds in the first chapter, Friendship, Gen, He's fine though, I literally don't know what I'm doing anymore, I sure enjoyed writing it LOL, Just something goofy I came up with Lol, Kai (Ninjago) has ADHD, Kai's the oldest of the group, Kinda, Let me know if you notice anything that I should have tagged, No beta we die like Garmadon, Nosebleed, Nothing serious, Nya drives illegally, Out of character? Well yeah they're a combination of two different characters LOL, This is basically a how they met and became friends fic lol, This is my headcanon for the movie and no one can stop me, do not repost to another site, enjoy this nonsense, mentions of bullying, set in the movie verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26303986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leonardo_Charles_BlueWood_21/pseuds/Leonardo_Charles_BlueWood_21
Summary: The Ninja are linked by Destiny. They meet because of choices that seem small to some, but are so much bigger to others. Even the smallest act of kindness can be the catalyst for something great.orCole drops his headphones and things escalate from there.
Relationships: Cole & Jay Walker, Cole & Lloyd Garmadon & Kai & Nya & Jay Walker & Zane, Lloyd Garmadon & Ninja Team, Zane & Cole & Jay Walker
Comments: 188
Kudos: 280





	1. Headphones

When Cole’s first year of highschool had started, he made the decision to ignore it completely.

He had never been a fan of the chatter and endless noise that came with talking to people and making friends. Voices would grate on his ears more often than not, making it hard to think, so he’d just ended up avoiding it. 

He was still going to do his work, of course. He just wasn’t going to acknowledge the drama or existence of other human beings his age. Most people already had close knit friend groups by the time they hit highschool anyways, so he didn’t see the point in socializing. Things were already pretty much set in stone. No need to agonize over it. 

Besides, he was fine by himself. He’d hadn’t ever really had friends before and he certainly didn’t need them now. He had his music and his art, and he’d never liked talking much anyways. It wasn’t as if anyone listened. Everyone was pretty absorbed in their own personal drama and Cole didn’t see a reason to get involved, when he didn’t need to be. 

So, when he walked through the doors on his first day, he slipped his headphones over his ears, and hit play on his playlist. The music started, drowning out any sounds that managed to filter through his headphones and his shoulders relaxed a little. He slipped one hand loosely into his pocket and slung his backpack over his shoulder with the other, keeping his hand wrapped around the strap to keep it there, and started through the hall, ignoring the people around him, and letting the music drown out the chaos. 

The steady beat and familiar vocals were grounding and kept him moving, making it easier to breathe. He always took them off during class, since he couldn’t afford getting detention, and honestly, listening to the teacher drone on wasn’t so bad, so long as there was a window to stare out, but the moment the bell rang, he would slip them back on, before gathering up his bag and exiting with the throng of students, acknowledging none of them on the way out. 

Most of the time people would move out of his way when he walked through the hallways. He did cut a bit of an imposing figure, he supposed, with his dark jacket, long dark hair and a dissociating expression. That, coupled with the headphones placed firmly over his ears, ended up doing a pretty good job of discouraging conversation, and he was left alone for the most part. 

He was pretty sure half the school was convinced he was some sort of delinquent, which was why it was a little odd that no one tried to pick on him at all. Though, that might’ve just been because of his size. He was pretty big compared to the other kids. Or maybe they were just gossiping about him and he didn’t notice because of his headphones. 

In the end he just decided not to question it and moved on. 

He sat alone at lunch, listening to his music as he munched on his food, usually drawing for a bit after finishing. He didn’t lean over his sketchbook too much, so as not to draw attention, but he sat pretty far away from the general bustle at his own table in the back corner near the doors, so no one really noticed him anyway. 

Sometimes the ground would shake a little, due to the attacks on the city somewhere nearby, but his headphones did a pretty good job of drowning out most of the noise that came with it, and he didn’t even bother looking up from his sketchbook, or away from the window during them. 

He kept his eyes above the heads of his classmates and left the building after school with his headphones on and his hands in his pockets. He’d walk aimlessly around the park nearby for an hour, then would head back to another building a few blocks away from the school.

Thursday and Friday were his dance class, and Monday and Wednesday were his singing lessons, along with Saturday mornings. He was usually up by seven on the weekend so he could get to them on time. They were long and a little tedious most days, and he zoned out for a lot of them, whenever he could. 

Cole didn’t have a problem with singing or dancing really, but if it weren’t for his dad he wouldn’t be doing either of them. He’d given up trying to reach his father’s expectations, but he’d kept attending the classes since he didn't actually hate them. They were almost fun when he wasn’t low-key being crushed under the weight of his father’s disappointment. 

His dad wasn’t… bad. He just wasn’t very good at listening. 

Cole loved him a lot, and he knew he cared about him in return, but... him not being very good at talking, and his dad not being a great listener, made their relationship a little strained, and he wasn’t really sure how to change that, so for now things remained a little tense. 

He spent most of his free time in the quiet space of his bedroom, writing music, doing homework and drawing. He tried to ask his father if he could take an art class at one point, but that conversation hadn’t gone remotely where he’d wanted to and he’d just given up after the fourth time bringing it up without success. He stuck to youtube videos and books and daily practice to learn, and liked to think he was improving at least a little as time progressed. 

His first two years of highschool passed by very much the same, he expected his third would be no different. And it might not have been, if a student hadn’t bumped into him one morning. 

  
  
  
  


__________

  
  
  
  


He was standing by his locker, just finishing up placing a few of his books inside, which he’d taken home the previous day to use for homework help. He closed his locker door, and reached up to pull his headphones back over his head but someone bumped into him as they rushed by, and he fumbled with them, losing his grip and they ended up falling to the ground with a _clack._

The student was long gone, so there wasn’t any reason to get angry about it. It was a crowded hallway, someone was bound to bump into him eventually. 

He sighed and leaned down to pick them up, but before he could grab them, a shoe from another oblivious student, who was chatting with their friend, caught them and they were kicked away from him, into the crowded hallway. 

A stab of panic shot through him, and he fumbled forward, pushing past a few people to try and reach his headphones, but they were only kicked further into the hallway amidst the tumbling feet. 

He needed those. It was already getting too loud, and he didn’t know if he could convince his dad to buy him a new pair. He already disapproved of him wearing them all the time, he’d probably just tell him that it was a sign that he needed to start paying more attention to his surroundings. 

He couldn’t push through the crowd fast enough to get to them. People kept bumping into him and there were some murmured apologies or annoyed exclamation, but he ignored them in favour of chasing his headphones down the hall. 

They slid to a stop and he felt relief for a moment before he saw that they were about to be crushed underfoot by an unsuspecting student. His heart lodged in his throat, hand reaching to grab it even though they were out of his reach. 

There was a blue streak of motion and his headphones were suddenly scooped off the ground, a split-second before the shoe came down onto the ground on the space they were a moment before. 

The student who’d saved his headphones, stumbled into a few people, getting shoved by one of them, barely catching his feet under him, shoulders hunching slightly as the person he’d bumped into snapped at him. 

Cole blinked, startled. 

The student kept his eyes on the ground as he approached, and wordlessly handed the headphones to Cole as he passed. Cole fumbled to take them from him, and his headphone’s rescuer met his eyes for a moment with a small genuine smile that only lasted a second before dropping, and he continued down the hall with the wave of students, his eyes fastened to the ground again. 

Cole held his headphones tightly in his hands, staring after him, feeling off balance, as he disappeared into the crowd quickly, overtaken by the wave of students, easily blocking out his small form. 

He stood like that for long enough that the crowd started to thin out.

The noise reached Cole again, snapping him out of his bewilderment, and he slipped his headphones over his ears, blocking out the sounds of the hallway. 

His class was in the opposite direction than the boy had gone, but he kept looking back, even though he was long gone. 

He sat down in his second class of the morning, pulling his headphones down and staring distractedly out the window as the teacher started speaking. 

  
  
  
  


______________

  
  
  


Cole had gone two years ignoring every other soul in the school. Their faces blurred together, and he couldn’t remember a single name. No one drew his attention and he hardly even recognized the people in his class, let alone the ones he saw in the halls. 

So how was it, that he was suddenly seeing this guy everywhere? 

It was like a dam had broken, and now he couldn’t _stop_ noticing him. The headphone rescuer was showing up in the corner of his vision, walking down hallways, or entering the school, even sitting in some of his classes. Cole swore he’d never seen him before, and now he was just _there._

He’d even caught himself actively _looking_ for him in some cases. It was like his eyes were just… drawn to him, and the more he saw him, the less he looked away. 

He ended up kinda… inadvertently started to get to know the boy, just through unintentional observation. It was hardly his goal, but he started to get curious. 

He was quiet. Didn’t talk a lot, his mouth usually firmly shut like it was a conscious effort. He always sat at the same table in the cafeteria, shoulders hunched a little, and looking very small as the rest of the table laughed and chatted beside him, ignoring him completely. Cole hadn’t seen a genuine smile on him since the one he’d given him while handing him his headphones. Usually the feeble tilts of his mouth were forced and nervous, and he shifted on his feet a lot. Sometimes he would start tapping his fingers on his desk but seemed to catch himself and curl his hands into fists, shoving them under the table. 

He didn’t seem to actually have any friends. The table that he sat at during lunch seemed more like they were just… allowing him to be there. Their backs were turned to him most of the time and he was so close to the end of the bench that Cole thought he might slip right off the edge a couple of times. 

He was usually looking down, at the ground or the table, picking at his food. He seemed to avoid eye contact a lot, not that anyone besides Cole was really looking at him in the first place. He had this orange scarf, which he was always wearing, that he’d hide his face in sometimes, and the cuffs of his blue sweater were worn and falling apart a little like he had a habit of picking at them. Cole glanced under his desk one time, and he was far enough away that he could see that he’d been right about that. 

He had freckles, and short tangled, almost curly hair, that was just long enough to hide behind. Cole hadn’t been able to actually see his eyes close enough to properly guess the colour, and the first time when he _had_ been close enough, he’d been too distracted to actually register their shade. 

In any case, his plan of ignoring everyone and everything in the school was falling apart because of him. He was quiet and small, and not really easy to notice for the most part, but somehow, for Cole, he was the easiest thing to see in the entire school. And all he’d done was pick up some headphones. 

It had been such a small thing, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him, especially since it wasn’t like the guy _had_ to save his headphones. It was something he’d just… chosen to do. He hadn’t tried to keep them from Cole once he’d picked them up, or tried to bargain for a favour of any kind. He’d even put himself in front of a few students, almost getting knocked over all because he’d gone out of his way to grab them. 

  
And then he’d just given them back, and walked away. 

Cole rested his elbow on his cafeteria table, letting his chin rest in his hand, and watched how the boy pulled his scarf over his nose and closed his eyes as though breathing in the smell of the fabric, shoulders relaxing a little, before he opened his eyes again and started picking a the cuffs of his sleeves under the table. 

He looked like someone who would do anything to avoid attention and yet he’d literally thrown himself in front of a crowd to save a pair of headphones for someone he didn't even know. 

Cole exhaled, tapping his finger against the table. 

What a weird kid. 

  
  
  
  


__________

  
  
  
  
  


Blue, as Cole had dubbed him in his head, in honour of the blue sweater he was always wearing, was walking past him with his lunch tray, following his usual path to his table, when three bigger students stepped in front of him, blocking his path. 

Cole was instantly on alert, eyes snapping to look at them fully where they stood a mere table’s distance away. The three boys loomed over him, their mouths moving, clearly talking to him, but Cole couldn’t hear what they were saying due to his headphones. 

Blue shrunk back, most of his face hidden from Cole, since his back was turned to him, and flinched violently when one of them knocked his lunch tray out of his hands. 

Cole froze, body tensing. 

A few students glanced at the noise, some looking at the three boys disapproving but nobody stepped in to do anything. Cole glanced at Blue’s usual table, but none of them were even looking their way, completely ignoring the situation. He felt a stab of annoyance at them, knowing they really didn’t care about him, then turned back to look at Blue and the boys picking on him. 

They were still talking at him, probably saying less than kind things to him, if Blue’s reaction was anything to go by. His shoulders were hiking up to his ears and he was grasping his arms, fingers digging into the fabric of his sweater with enough force that it looked like it hurt. 

Cole hadn’t really processed what he was doing until he was already out of his seat and moving towards them. 

They didn’t notice him until he got close, looking up at him with almost startled expressions when he came into their line of sight. He wasn’t that much bigger than they were, having maybe an inch on them in height but hardly enough to be considered substantial or notable. He was a bit broader than they were however. 

He came to stand next to Blue, the smaller boy startling slightly when he noticed him, and Cole did his best not to look at him, so he didn’t startle him further, keeping his eyes on the boys in front of them calmly as Blue shrank back. 

They said something to him, looking annoyed, but he just looked at them, expression unchanging and shrugged, tapping his headphones to show that he couldn’t hear them. They glared and tried again, but he ignored them and leaned down to start gathering up the fallen lunchtray and the items that had been on it. 

He saw the kick coming, because he had been waiting for it. He wasn’t quite fast enough to catch it completely before it hit his face, so it nicked him, but he didn’t react to the sharp pain that blossomed across his nose. It faded to a dull throb pretty quickly, and he ignored it, since he’d managed to catch the guy’s ankle and prevent the worst of the force from hitting him. 

It had been a pretty feeble kick all things considered. Cole figured he might’ve just been trying to push him back, or get a reaction, but regardless it had still been unwelcome physical contact so he would allow himself to react accordingly. 

He looked up slowly, sniffing at the clogged feeling in his nose that was probably blood, and raised an eyebrow at the guy, who’s ankle was currently in his grip. He would need to deal with the situation quickly, before the guy noticed he’d actually managed to hurt him, even if it was only a little. That kind of stuff tended to be satisfying to these kinds of people and Cole wasn’t interested in becoming a regular target. Though he might’ve ended up being one anyways after getting himself involved. 

His eyes widened slightly and Cole didn’t give him time to react any more than that. 

He shoved him back with enough force to make him fall onto his back and go sliding back several feet. 

There was a surge of movement around them, and probably some noise that Cole couldn’t hear, as students turned to see what the commotion was, some slapping their hands over their mouths to either hide their laughs or their gasps. 

He ignored them, and finished gathering up the tray’s contents before standing, sniffing again and breathing carefully to avoid letting the blood leak. He tilted his head at the guy who’d kicked him in the face, giving him a menacing look, and the guy scrambled to his feet. 

He said something, a sour expression on his face, but there was a nervousness lingering in his eyes, as he backed from him, along with his lackeys, all of them looking properly unnerved. 

Cole’s mouth twitched slightly in amusement and he slowly reached up and tapped his headphones to remind him of his inability to hear what he was saying, giving a loose shrug, then promptly turned and walked away, ignoring him completely. 

He really wasn’t worth his time. 

He sniffed again and resisted the urge to sigh. His anonymity was pretty much gone and they’d most likely target him now, but he couldn’t have just stood by and let the guy who’d saved his headphones get punched in the middle of the cafetiera. 

He balanced the lunch tray in one hand so he could pause his music for a moment, and the muffled sounds of the cafetiera rushing into his ears. 

He was almost going to glance behind him to check for Blue when the smaller boy stumbled up beside him, shoulders hunched and fingers curled into his sweater, almost hugging himself. 

“That--you--um--” he couldn’t seem to get any words out, then he gasped, and Cole glanced over at him to see a look of horror on his face. “You’re bleeding!” 

Cole sniffed again, wiping his nose. “It’s fine.” He set the tray on the table across from his own. 

Not much had been lost since most of it had been closed packaging. That alone told him that it probably wasn’t the first time it had happened to him. He wondered how many times those guys had knocked his tray out of his hands while Cole was too busy tuning out the world. 

“But your nose might be broken!” Blue said, hands flapping worriedly. He seemed to realize what he was doing and hugged himself to keep his arms from moving, hunching further in on himself, but not looking away. 

“That’s okay,” Cole said, pulling his headphones down after sitting down. “I’d rather have a broken nose than broken headphones.” He offered him a small smile. The noise of the cafeteria was louder but he tuned it out and forced himself to focus on the person in front of him.

Blue looked startled for a moment, eyes flicking down to his headphones, then back to his face. 

“I don’t--I don’t think your priorities are very in order,” he said, his voice getting quieter with every word and shrank back as though bracing himself for the backlash of his words. He had looked genuinely happy for a moment but now he looked ready to take a verbal beating. 

Cole let himself laugh softly and looked down at his lunch, trying to suppress his smile. “Maybe not.” 

Blue hesitated for a moment, biting his lip, looking between Cole and his lunch tray. He glanced behind them and saw the bullies glaring at them from the other side of the cafetiera. 

Swallowing he slipped into the seat across from Cole, still nervous and twitchy. He kept looking like he wanted to move his hands but would catch himself before they so much as twitched, hiding them under the table where Cole knew he’d started picking at his sweater cuffs. 

Cole wiped some blood away with his sleeve. The staining red didn’t show up on the black fabric, which he was glad for, and there wasn’t actually much. It had already nearly stopped. 

“Thank you,” a quiet voice came, drawing his attention. 

Cole looked up at Blue who was looking at him with bright blue eyes, still seeming a bit nervous, and he blinked as he registered the words. He looked back down at his lunch. “No problem,” he said before shoving a cookie into his mouth. 

They didn’t talk much after that, but for the first time in a long time, Cole left his headphones off for lunch. 

  
  


_______________

  
  
  
  


The next day, Cole was doodling something at his table when some movement caught his eye and he glanced up to see Blue standing a little ways off, hesitating. 

Cole looked to Blue’s table where the boy’s usual spot on the edge had been filled, then at the empty seats at his own table. 

He pulled down his headphones and waved at him until he got his attention, then patted the tabletop invitingly with a small hesitating smile. 

Blue looked at him with wide, startled eyes, glancing back at his previous table before looking back at him. His shoulders hiked up a little but he exhaled and started towards him. 

When he reached the table, he set his tray down gingerly and slipped into the seat across from him, looking very small. 

Cole smiled at him, not waiting for him to return it, and went back to drawing. 

He didn’t see it, but the boy across from him relaxed slightly. 

  
  
  


________________

  
  
  


It became sorta… routine to sit together after that. 

Blue would usually hesitate a little but after a while he just slipped into the seat across from him without the nervous hesitation. It made Cole smile a little when he’d first sat down without needing an invitation. 

He still didn’t actually know his name, even after a full two weeks, but he wasn’t sure how to ask without sounding like an idiot, so he just… didn’t, and continued on with calling him Blue in his head. He was sure it was going to come back to bite him in the future, but couldn’t bring himself to admit to not knowing and just stewed in his own embarrassment. 

Blue would start to ramble sometimes, and, though he tended to cut himself off a lot, Cole did his best to listen. He knew how frustrating it could be when people didn’t listen, and, honestly, his voice was kinda nice to listen to. It was oddly easy to focus on, even amidst the chatter of the cafeteria, and Cole didn’t feel like he had to wear his headphones in order to think when he was talking. He’d even started leaving them off entirely during most of the lunch hour. 

It might’ve been weird to compare his voice to music, but it was similar in the fact that it was grounding. He could breathe when he was talking. 

Cole started to learn a bit more about him. He was smart. Really smart. And funny. He liked puns. He stuttered sometimes. He took very small bites when he ate food, and wasn’t a fan of his science teacher, even though he really loved science. He wanted to invent things, and loved coming up with new ideas.

When he’d mentioned that one, he’d slapped his hand over his mouth and stared at Cole with wide eyes, like he hadn’t meant to say it, and was expecting him to laugh at him or something. But Cole had just told him “ _That’s really cool,”_ and went back to eating. 

Blue relaxed a bit after that. 

Sometimes he would be a little quieter than usual and without his voice to focus on the noise would start to get to Cole again, so he would mumble out an apology and put his headphones on, before resting his head on his arms and breathing for a while, letting his music ground him again. 

He still saw him out of the halls and in classes sometimes, but they didn’t really talk. He wasn’t sure how to approach him, and he couldn’t really wave or acknowledge him since Blue was always looking down at his feet. 

So they just talked at lunch. 

Or, well, Blue talked and Cole listened. 

“Sorry,” Blue said nervously, after cutting himself off for the fourth time that afternoon. “I’m talking too much.” 

It wasn’t the first time he’d apologized for it, and he fiddled with his fingers, not meeting Cole’s eye. 

“It’s okay,” Cole told him honestly, making him look up. He offered him a little smile. “I don’t like talking much anyways. And you’re nice to listen to.” He dropped his eyes at the last confession, feeling a little embarrassed, and went back to his food so he didn’t say anything else mortifying.

“Oh,” said Blue, with quiet surprise.

Cole tried not to feel like an idiot. 

The boy hesitated for a moment, but then started talking again, a slight blush on his cheeks. He spoke a little softly at first, but he seemed to forget about being quiet after a while. He’d still catch himself on his volume and speak quieter now and again, but he seemed a lot more comfortable talking. 

Cole breathed out, and let himself relax. 

  
  
  


_________________

  
  
  
  


Blue was already at the table when Cole got there. 

He looked up as he approached, but Cole couldn’t bring himself to meet his eye and just sat down across from him, resting his arms across the tabletop, not having bothered to grab his tray or get food, and dropped his head onto his arms, pulling his hoodie’s hood over his head to block out some of the noise. 

His headphones had died before he had even walked into the school, leaving him at the mercy of the loud chatter and endless murmur of voices, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to make it through the rest of the day. 

What was worse, was that he had forgotten his earbuds that he usually carried as a backup having cleaned out his backpack a week ago and he hadn’t gotten around to putting them back inside. 

The morning had been absolutely horrible. All he wanted to do was go home. 

“Hey,” came Blue’s tentative voice. “Are um… are you okay?” 

“It’s loud,” Cole told him, his voice muffled by his arms. He wasn’t even sure Blue would have heard him. 

“Can… can I do any--anything to help?” 

Cole looked up from under his hair and hood. 

Blue shifted under his gaze, but for the first time didn’t look away. He looked a little worried. 

Cole forced himself to breathe.

“Could...” he hesitated, feeling a little stupid. “Could you… tell me about your science class?” 

Blue blinked. “Oh,” he said. He looked a little confused, but nodded. “Y-yeah. Sure. I--I can do that.” He started talking, a little rushed at first but settled into his usual tempo once some of his nervousness had faded and Cole felt his shoulders relax as he spoke, the chatter of the cafetiera fading into a background buzz that didn’t bother him so much anymore. 

Blue told him about how one kid had gotten detention for letting their phone play through the entirety of “All Star” while the teacher tried to figure out who was making the noise, and the other students had joined in, passing around the phone driving them crazy. 

Cole couldn’t help but laugh a little. 

Blue looked startled for a moment, but then a softly delighted smile came onto his face and he launched back into the story, telling him in detail about how the teacher had nearly been flipping tables by the second chorus. 

Cole didn’t bother to dampen his grin, resting his head atop his arms and listening to Blue’s voice as he rambled about anything and everything that came to mind. He only paused his talking for long enough to be able to push the brownie from his tray over to Cole. 

Cole’s eyes stung a little.

He accepted the food, chewing on the soft sweet baked good, feeling a lot better, even after just one bite. 

Blue kept talking, handing Cole some food every now and again, and after a while, the stress from the morning just… faded away. 

When the bell rang, Cole almost felt like himself again. 

Students started to head out, gathering up their trays and garbage and disposing of them on their way out, the bustle giving way to a sudden increase in noise. 

He gave a controlled exhale, closing his eyes for a moment, and tried to mentally prepare himself to deal with the noise for the rest of the day. It wasn’t impossible. He might end up grinding his teeth down half an inch by the end of it, but he could do it. 

“Hey,” Blue said softly, drawing his attention away from the noise. 

He looked up, opening his eyes and blinked when his gaze was met with a pair of electric blue earbuds, held out to him timidly. 

He stared at them, then snapped his head up to look at Blue, who offered him a tentative smile. “They’re not great, but… I f-figure they’re better than nothing.” 

Cole stared at him, mouth parted slightly, words failing him entirely. 

“You can give them back tomorrow,” Blue told him. 

He hesitated, but accepted the earbuds, holding them like they might shatter in his hands. 

Blue’s smile lit up his whole face, making it seem like Cole had given him the moon just by accepting them.

“Thanks,” was all Cole could say. 

“Yeah, no problem,” Blue said, suddenly looking bashful again, though his smile remained, even as he averted his eyes, and gathered up his bag. He stood and gave a small wave, meeting his eyes for another moment. 

“Bye.” 

Then he was off, merging into the crowd of students filing out, leaving Cole sitting at the table. 

He stared at the earbuds in his hands for several moments before pulling out his phone and plugging them in carefully, the movements familiar and practiced, almost second nature to him by now. Just as carefully, he pushed the buds into his ears, and the sounds of the cafeteria were muffled a little. They weren’t the greatest quality, but they might as well have been made of gold for all it meant to him. 

He pressed play and had to blink back the overwhelming emotion that rose in his chest when the music started playing, drowning out most of the noise. He could still taste the brownie and the elated feeling flooded into every part of him, making him squeeze his eyes shut and grin so hard his face hurt. 

Once he’d caught his breath, he rose from the seat, the last person to leave the cafeteria, and headed to class with a smile on his face, stepping in time to the beat in his ears. 

  
  
  


______________

  
  



	2. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay's lunchtime friend(?) walks him home.

Jay was speed-walking.

It wasn’t that he was in a rush, he had just seen a couple of people that he’d rather not talk to coming towards him, and he wanted to avoid confrontation without straight out running from it. Not that it would make much difference, since that’s what he was doing anyways, just with less speed. He just didn’t really want to draw any more attention than what he already had. 

They hadn’t bothered him as much since his lunchtime companion had knocked one of them over with one hand, but they still sought him out when the other wasn’t around. Lunch was the only time he could really relax because he knew they wouldn’t be approaching while he was there. While he was in the halls however… Well, that was a completely different story. 

He had thought about asking the guy to walk him to class, but shut that idea down pretty quick. He was already annoying him as much as it was during lunch, he really didn’t want to overstep. He actually really liked him, he was really nice and he didn’t want to lose him as a… an aquanctince? Friend? Were they friends? He wanted to be, he just wasn’t totally sure if _he_ wanted to be friends. He didn’t seem to find him annoying so… maybe? 

Jay really wished he could just stop second guessing every time someone talked to him. The guy was really nice. Saved him from bullies and even picked up his lunch. And he _listened_ , which was… well, baffling to Jay. It wasn’t even just letting him babble on about things, he actually listened, and smiled at all the right moments and laughed at his puns sometimes, which made Jay’s heart skip a beat every time. 

And he still didn’t even know his name. He had let him borrow his earbuds, shared his lunch with him, told him about every minuscule detail of his days, and didn’t even know his name. 

He’d almost tried to ask several times, but had got too nervous to actually do it. He’d known him for almost two months. If he’d asked now, it would have just made him seem stupid. Or it might offend him. He didn’t really seem like the kind of guy to get offended over something like that, but Jay wasn’t taking any chances. He was the first person in the school to actually be okay with spending time with him, without telling him to shut up or to stop moving his hands so much, he didn't want to do anything that might drive him away. 

He kept his eyes fastened to the ground like always, watching the squares on the floor go by as he walked. He only glanced behind him to check for the boys for a moment, but of course that would be the exact moment someone appeared in front of him, and he didn't’ notice them until he was literally walking right into them. 

The impact smooshed and _oof_ out of him as he made contact with a very solid wall of person and he stumbled back, flailing his arms slightly, apologies already tumbling from his lips. Gods, he really needed to watch where he was going, but looking at people was so awkward and-- 

He recognized those shoes. His eyes snapped up to look at the person he’d bumped into. 

“Oh,” Headphones said, looking surprised. “Hi.” 

Jay froze, feeling a lot like a deer in headlights, which was kind of silly. It wasn’t as though they went to different schools. It wasn’t weird to bump into each other in the hallway. 

Except for the fact that it was. Weird. Very weird. They didn’t really talk, or even look at each other outside the cafeteria, it was almost like an unspoken law that they didn’t associate outside of it. 

Jay was hit with the sudden spike of anxiety that he’d just ruined whatever thing they had going, and that he’d have to find a new place to sit and never be able to talk to him again. 

He took another step back, his shoulders hunching, and stammered out another apology, before remembering that he couldn’t hear him through the headphones, then just dropped his head and stared at the ground to hide his embarrassment. 

Headphones was silent for a moment and Jay shifted on his feet, not really sure how to approach the situation, his heart pounding wildly. 

He risked a glance up and saw him looking down the hall where Jay had come from, a slight furrow in his brow and he frowned. 

Jay turned slightly to see what he was looking at before he could think better of it and almost immediately spotted the three boys from across the hall. He snapped his gaze forward and glued it to the floor, shoulders hiking up to his ears. Bumping into Headphones had cost him a lot of time. There wasn’t really any way he could outrun them now. He just barely kept his fingers from tapping against his leg. 

He could feel Headphones look at him and he resisted the urge to shrink under his gaze. 

He started to turn away, and Jay didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting. 

“Come on.” 

Jay’s head snapped up. 

Headphones gestured for him to follow with a loose roll of his shoulder and Jay stared at him, mouth slightly parted in shock. 

Headphones didn’t wait for a response, turning away fully and beginning to walk down the hall. 

Jay snapped out of his shock and scrambled after him, clutching the straps of his bag. He tried to keep a reasonable distance between them as they walked, catching himself unconsciously drifting closer to him every couple of seconds. Headphones didn't seem to notice luckily. Or he didn’t care about the close proximity. Jay still tried not to walk too close, just to be safe. 

They made their way outside and Headphones stopped walking just outside the school. 

Jay felt a momentary stab of panic in which he thought he might throw him into the bushes or something but shook his head to rid himself of the thought. He wouldn’t do that. 

(Unless he did.)

(He wouldn’t.)

Jay gripped his backpack’s straps tighter. 

Headphones turned around to look at him, pulling his headphones off from his head and letting them hang around his neck.

“Do you want me to walk you home?” 

The world came to a halt and Jay gaped at him for a solid four seconds too long, before snapping his mouth shut and stammering horribly. “I--n-no, that’s--that’s okay, it’s pretty far and--and I wouldn’t want to you to have to--have to walk all that w-way--” 

“I don’t mind,” Headphones told him, his voice soft. “I'm not headed home for a while anyways. I’ve got some time.” 

  
  


Jay bit his lip, hesitating. He… he was offering, right? He glanced back at the school entrance and almost immediately spotted the three boys watching them. He looked away, shoulders hunching a little. 

“Okay,” he all but whispered. 

Headphones nodded, giving him a little smile. “Kay.” He straightened up, adjusting his backpack, then nodded. “Which way to your place, Sparky?” 

Jay didn’t know what to think of the nickname, so he just said, _“this way,_ ” quietly, and started walking in the right direction, Headphones wordlessly following beside him. 

The junkyard wasn’t actually too far from the school. Only about an hour's hike. His parents thought he took the city bus, but he hadn’t had bus money for a while, so he’d just been walking. 

It wasn’t all that bad. The scenery was really nice, and the streets weren’t too incredibly crowded, but they weren’t deserted by any means. They were in Ninjago, no place was deserted. His anxiety did spike past every alleyway usually, but it was a little better with Headphones there. 

They walked in mostly silence. Headphones had exchanged his headphones for earbuds at some point, so Jay had decided against starting conversation and just wrung his hands and muttered to himself under his breath since he probably couldn’t hear him over his music. 

He was curious about what he was listening to and why he’d offered to walk him home when it was so out of the way--gosh what if he got lost on the way back and it would be all his fault-- 

“You wanna listen?” 

“What?” Jay almost yelped, jumping violently, startled and stumbled to a halt. 

He felt his face grow hot at his own reaction but Headphones just stopped as well and looked at him calmly like nothing had happened, holding out an earbud to him. 

Jay stared at it. 

He reached out, hand twitching back for a moment before hesitantly accepting the offered earbud. 

“Tell me if it’s too loud, okay?” Headphones told him softly. 

“Okay,” Jay said back quietly, knowing full well he would never do so. 

They started walking again after Jay had fumbled with the earbud for a moment and gotten it in his ear. The wire forced them to walk a little closer then before and his heart pounded in his chest at their proximity. 

Headphones seemed to be completely at ease so he forced himself to relax a little and listen to the music coming through the earbud. 

It was actually rather nice. Soothing almost. A tecno soft sort of melody that almost made him sleepy. It took him a moment after the song ended and another had begun, to realize that he was feeling much more relaxed. He glanced at Headphones, wondering if he’d done it on purpose. 

Words bubbled up in his throat but he swallowed hard and forced them back down. No need to talk his ear off and drive off the first person who’d tolerated his presence for more than a few seconds. 

The songs that came on weren’t really matching with the imposing, all-black-wearing image of the person next to him. Though, he was pretty laid back, so maybe it did fit? He buried his face in his scarf. He didn’t really know much about him at all really. He still hadn’t even gathered up the courage to ask him his name, let alone anything else. 

They walked in silence. Jay could tell when one of Headphones' favourite songs came on, because he’d start nodding his head slightly to the music, though it seemed like he didn’t even realize he was doing it. 

Jay had to bite back a smile at the thought. 

He watched their shoes as they stepped across the concrete sidewalk. Headphones’ were plain black runners that were a lot newer looking than Jay’s own scuffed blue ones, and he found himself enamoured between the differences of them. 

“I like your scarf,” a voice startled him and he looked up, with a start. 

“O-oh, t-thanks,” he managed. “My m-mom and I m-made it to-together.” _Too much information, too much information, shut up, Jay_. 

“That’s really cool,” Headphones said, with another soft smile, and Jay didn’t know how to react to that. 

He looked down, hiding the bottom half of his face in his scarf, and bit his lip again. “I-I-I I l-like y-your m-music.” The words were a struggle to get out, but he did it. 

Headphones waited patiently throughout his entire stuttering mess of a sentence, holding off a response until he was finished. 

“Thanks.” 

“Uh huh.” 

It was almost a relief when the junkyard came into view. He abruptly felt very nervous, not sure how the other boy would react as he pulled the earbud from his ear and handed it to him, which he accepted without a word. 

“Th-this is--is m-me,” he whispered. 

Headphones looked up at the junkyard sign, expression unchange aside from a slight twitch of his lips. 

“Cool,” he said. 

Jay looked at him with wide eyes. 

He looked down. “Well um…” he looked up again and offered him a smile. “See you tomorrow.” 

“Uh huh,” Jay breathed. 

Headphones gave him another, slightly brighter, smile before walking off down the sidewalk back the way they had come. 

Jay stood unmoving, and watched him for a few seconds before he realized that staring was weird and forced himself to turn and run into the junkyard towards the camper. 

He didn’t even realize he was smiling until he saw his reflection in the window. 

  
  
  
  


_________________

  
  
  
  


Jay didn’t even have to ask the next day. Headphones was just waiting for him outside his last class. 

“You don’t have to walk me home every day, you know,” Jay said softly on the third time. 

“I want to,” Headphones told him. He hadn’t put any earbuds or headphones on since the walk had started and Jay felt oddly flattered that he would rather listen to him than to music. “I usually just walk around the park for a while after school, so… this is nice.” 

Not annoying. 

Nice. 

Jay hid his smile in his scarf. 

  
  
  


__________

  
  
  
  
  


The days passed, and Jay found himself growing more comfortable during their walks. Words came easier and he didn't’ find it so hard to look up from the ground. Headphones was an easy person to talk to; a good listener. 

Sometimes Jay worried he was talking too much, feeling like a bit of a jerk for not letting him talk more, but he seemed perfectly content without saying much, even reassuring him a few times that he didn’t mind. No matter how many times Jay apologized he didn’t get tired of reassuring him, and that was probably what really helped him relax. 

They started spending most of their free time together. It started when Jay spotted Headphones one morning and took a deep breath before approaching him to say hi. The nervousness was worth the way he took his headphones off and gave him a genuine smile. 

It became normal for them to find each other after classes and walk through the halls to and from their lockers, to different classes and the cafeterias. Jay noticed him in classes he hadn’t even realized he was in, and found himself enjoying the weeks a lot more with someone else to talk to. 

Headphones continued to walk him home every day, and, even though Jay had the bus money now, he kept letting him anyway. The walks were nice. 

He flapped his hands a lot as he talked during their walks, but Headphones didn’t seem to mind, accepting the weird habit without blinking. He’d been so unphased by it, that Jay hadn’t even realized that he’d started descending into the habit until his hand caught on the cord of his headphones and yanked the earbuds out of both of their ears.

He’d apologised at least a dozen times by the time they’d reached the junkyard, but Headphones just laughed and told him that it happened sometimes and that he didn’t need to be sorry. Jay’s face and ears still burned in mortification. 

“How was school?” his mom called as he entered the trailer. 

He slipped off his shoes and walked into the kitchen where she was washing dishes, dropping his bag on the table and making his way over to hug her. 

She laughed a little, keeping her soapy hands hovering in the air and away from him so as not to get him wet, but leaned against him and rested her face on the top of his head in an armless hug. 

“Good,” he said after releasing her, looking up at her with a smile. 

“And how’s your nameless friend?” she asked. “You find out what he’s called yet?” 

Jay felt his face flush. “No. I’m still trying to figure out how to ask.” 

“Just do it!” his father called from the other room. 

“I’d rather sleep outside for a week!” Jay called back, making them both laugh. 

  
  
  
  


_________________

  
  
  
  


“You dance?” 

“Yeah.” 

Jay glanced at him upon hearing his lackluster tone. 

“You don’t… seem very happy about that,” he remarked, cautiously. 

“Not really my speed,” Headphones confessed, looking down at the sidewalk as they walked. 

“So…” Jay’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Why do you do it then?” 

“My dad.” 

The answer was stilted and Jay sensed it was a sensitive topic. “W-what would you do if you w-weren’t dancing?”  


“Art classes,” he answered immediately, then flushed, looking embarrassed. 

“You’re an artist?” Jay exclaimed, looking at him in awe. He had seen him scribbling in a notebook during lunch sometimes, but he’d always assumed it was homework notes, or something similar. He broke into a massive grin. “That’s so cool!” 

Headphones looked startled. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah!” Jay said excitedly. “Art is amazing. I like comic books a lot, Fritz Donegan is my favourite series. And my mom paints! She makes the paint herself with seashells, and it’s really pretty and cool to watch. She lets me help her sometimes and--” he realized he was rambling again and cut himself off, laughing a little nervously and rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Yeah. It--it’s cool.” He chewed on his lip for a moment. “W-what kind of art do you l-like to do?” 

Headphones looked at him for a second before glancing down at the ground. “I dunno. I was thinking about comic book stuff and graphic novel art. I mainly work in charcoal and pencil though.” 

“That’s so cool,” Jay grinned, feeling giddy. “Can I--?” he stopped, realizing it might be rude to ask. He was about to drop it, but Headphones was looking at him expectantly, so he swallowed and finished the question, looking away. “I--If you want to um… If you ever want to show any--anyone, I’m um… open. Yeah.” He pulled his hood up and over his face to hide his embarrassment. 

Headphones huffed a small laugh beside him and Jay felt his ears burn.

“Sure.” 

Jay peeked out from under his hood. 

“I can…” he hesitated. “I can show you some now if you want,” he offered. “My sketchbook is in my backpack.” 

Jay felt thrilled. “Yes, absolutely!” He flushed a little at his own excitement and Headphones laughed a little. 

He was a little late getting home due to flipping through the sketchbook for close to a half an hour. Headphones was an amazing artist. 

“And you’ve never taken an art class?” Jay asked incredulously as they approached the junkyard. 

“I mean, I’ve watched videos and read books about it and stuff,” Headphones said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “But… yeah, no actual classes.”

“That’s so cool,” Jay said, for what felt like the hundredth time that day, but Headphones still smiled. 

  
  
  


________________

  
  
  


“Who’s this song by?” 

“Oh, um. That’s uh… one of mine. It’s a work in progress. I forgot it was on here.” 

“You write MUSIC TOO?” 

____________

  
  
  
  
  


Jay came up with a brilliant idea one morning on how to find out his name without looking like an idiot. 

He could ask for his number, and if he got lucky, he’d input his contact info, including a name. Then boom! He’d know his name, without ever having to ask for it! 

He felt proud of his brilliant plan, until he saw Headphones in the hall at school and promptly threw the entire plan out the window. 

Asking for a phone number was nearly as bad as asking him for his name, and Jay groaned, falling face-first into his pillow after he’d gotten home. Why did he have to make these sorts of things so difficult for himself? 

He tried three more times, abandoning ship all three of those times. He’d gotten far enough to say “ _Hey,_ ” and then promptly lost all nerve when Headphones looked at him questioningly. 

Whatever. He could just die then. 

_Here lies Jay Walker. Didn’t even know his best friend’s name_. 

He gave a long sigh. 

  
  
  
  


_______________

  
  
  


In the end, it was a complete accident. 

Most days when Headphones walked him home, they just talked, Jay rambling his face off and Headphones listening patiently through all of his bumbling words. But sometimes, Headphones would hand him an earbud and they’d walk in mostly silence just listening to music. 

It was nice, relaxing, and Headphones had great taste in music too. 

It was during one such walk that Jay just blurted it out, without thinking. 

“I don’t know your name.” 

He slapped his hands over his mouth immediately after the words had escaped and looked at Headphones in horror, his whole face burning in mortification. 

They both stopped walking and Headphones stared at him. 

Jay felt like the biggest idiot on the planet and tried to stammer out and excuse, or an apology, but his mind blanked out completely, and he just ended up staring back at him with wide eyes.

“I--” Headphones blinked. Then he looked away, face reddening as well, making Jay pause. “I don’t… I don’t really… know your name either...”

For a moment, Jay could only stare at him, mouth dropping open completely in incredulous disbelief. Then he slapped his hands over his mouth again to stifle his laugh, which did absolutely nothing to dampen the sound that escaped. 

Headphones mouth twitched once and then they were both laughing, dissolving into giggles and snorting so hard they nearly fell over. 

“I’m Jay,” Jay introduced himself with one of Headphones’ songs playing in his ear.

“Cole.” 

The name fit. 

He couldn’t help but beam at him. 

“C-can I have your number?” he dared to ask, biting his lip to try and get his smile under control. It didn’t really work. 

“Yeah,” Cole nodded, smiling back. 

A few hours later his phone vibrated from where it sat next to him on his bed as he was working on his homework. He was already biting back a smile as he reached for it. 

**_Cole :headpones_emoji:_ **

_I’ve been calling you Blue in my head this whole time_

**_Cole :headphones_emoji:_ **

_Just_

**_Cole :headphones_emoji:_ **

_because of your sweater_

Jay muffled a laugh in his pillow.

**_Jay :lightningbolt_emoji:_ **

_Better than mine_

**_Jay :lightningbolt_emoji:_ **

_I was calling you headphones_

**_Cole :headphones_emoji:_ **

_Oh LEGIT?_

**_Cole :headphones_emoji:_ **

_That’s amazing_

**_Cole :headphones_emoji:_ **

_I am 100% on board with that_

**_Cole :headphones_emoji:_ **

_Forget I told you my name, you can just keep calling me that_

Jay lay face down in his pillow, just grinning, for a solid minute. 

  
___________________


	3. Glitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zane gets assigned to a group project.

Zane spent most of his time at school, alone. 

The whole point of him attending highschool was for him to observe the patterns of human behaviour and to integrate into society. Or in other words, make some friends, and live a normal life, as his father had said. He understood where his father was coming from but Zane was still apprehensive towards the situation. 

It was illogical, but he held the fear that if anyone got too close to him, they would discover that he wasn’t human and then his father would have to completely up-root their lives again and relocate to a new city. He trusted his father’s design, but there were still flaws that gave him away as not quite human, such as in the moments when he would sit still for a little too long, or when his eyes would brighten just a tad bit too much to be considered normal. 

He spoke to some classmates on occasion but didn’t have a regular friend group, or even a single regular friend like most of the school had, due to his wariness. He was still friendly and genuine as he could be, but his hesitance prevented him from really getting close to anyone. 

He liked the outdoors, so it was common practice for him to eat his lunches outside the school. He hadn’t realized it was considered strange to sit outside in the snow, until some of the students had spotted him and told others about it, causing him to get strange looks in the hallway and for whispers to follow him for a few weeks. It worked in his favour though, because it meant people weren’t as eager to approach him. 

Their attention faded after not too long, and things went mostly back to normal, most students just accepting him as ‘ _That Weird Guy,_ ’ and then going on with their lives. 

He could tell his father worried about him, but the man didn’t pry or stress too much on him making friends, despite it being the whole reason he’d sent Zane to the school in the first place, which Zane was grateful for. He just… wasn’t quite ready. 

Perhaps one day. 

For the time being he was content to simply observe from a distance. 

  
  
  


_________________

  
  
  


Their assignment for the next two weeks had the class splitting into groups of threes.

When Zane looked around, he calculated that most everyone had already completed their groups. He scanned the classroom until his eyes landed on two boys who had moved to sit next to each other at the back of the class. Another quick glance around told him that he was the only remaining student without a group. He paused for a moment to search for their names in his databanks. 

_Cole Brookstone_ and _Jay Walker_. 

Their records were clean, and they had a space open in their group, so he made his way over to them. 

“Excuse me,” he said, as he reached them. 

Jay looked up, shoulders tensing sinking back away from him slightly, but Cole didn’t seem to notice his presence, too absorbed in his workbook, with his headphones most likely drowning out any noise. Zane took another step forward so the movement would be in his line of sight and gain his attention. Cole glanced up, and Zane gave him a smile. The boy blinked once then reached up, slipping his headphones off his head and letting it rest around his neck, looking at him questioningly. 

  
“Your group is the only one that has an open space remaining,” he told them politely. “Would it be alright if I joined you?” 

Jay’s heart rate was elevated quite a bit but the boy nodded, looking nervous. “Y-yeah, s-sure. M-makes s-sense.” 

Cole nodded as well, but they both seemed a little tense, so Zane offered them a thankful smile that seemed to put them at ease, before carefully sitting down in the seat across from them. 

Jay kept his eyes averted for the most part and Cole just seemed to calmly accept his presence, glancing at Jay every once in a while as though to check on him. They brainstormed for their project and Zane made an effort to speak softly and to move slowly so as not to startle Jay. It was a bit of a challenge inside the loud and chatty classroom, but he managed. The smaller boy was quiet, but had some really fascinating ideas that Zane couldn’t help but be intrigued by. 

They exchanged numbers so they could keep in contact over the next two weeks and then Zane bid them farewell as he headed to his next class.

He had been part of group projects before, but had never really clicked with any of his team members. Cole and Jay were surprisingly easy to converse with however, and he found himself replaying their conversation in his head several times throughout the remainder of the day. 

From what he could tell, they were already friends. Cole was laid back, but there was a calculating look in his eye as though he were gadging the type of person Zane was while they were talking. He also seemed a little protective of Jay, which Zane found he understood. Jay had been rather nervous--possible social anxiety, Zane deduced--but he really was quite brilliant. He could already tell he was smarter than most of the kids in the school, despite only having spoken with him for twenty-two minutes. 

They made a bit of an odd duo, but Zane decided he was rather looking forward to working with them. 

  
  
  


_______________

  
  
  
  


He was just about to head out of the cafeteria, lunch tray in hand, when some movement caught his eye. He turned his head slightly to see Jay waving at him from his table. Cole sat across from him, offering Zane a genuine smile. 

He smiled back and made his way over to them, if only to say hello before heading outside. 

“H-hey, Zane,” Jay greeted as he approached. His smile was a little nervous. “D-do um, do you wanna sit with-with us?” 

Zane blinked, systems glitching for a moment in genuine surprise. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. 

Jay’s face brightened and he scooched over to make room for him on the bench beside him. 

Zane placed his tray onto a cafeteria table for the first time, and slid into the seat. 

Cole gave him a smile from across the table, which he couldn’t help but return.

“I don’t--I don’t think I’ve ever--ever seen you in-in here b-before,” Jay remarked, haltingly. He paused, looking like he wanted to say more but didn’t. 

“I usually eat outside,” Zane offered, as an explanation. 

“Oh,” Jay said, looking surprised. He smiled a little beneath his scarf. “Th-that sounds n-nice,” 

“Doesn’t it get cold out there?” Cole asked looking up from his food. 

“The cold has never been an inconvenience for me,” Zane told him, with a small shrug, the movement kept minimized so as not to startle Jay. “I have a high temperature tolerance.” 

“Cool,” Cole said, accepting the answer after a moment of consideration, and then went back to his food. 

Zane smiled. 

  
  
  
  


______________

  
  
  
  


After that he just… started sitting with them. 

It was as if he was drawn to their table by a magnetic pull, or perhaps just their waves and inviting smiles. Whatever the case, Zane’s lunches were now spent inside the school building.

It took a few days, but Jay seemed to warm up to him a bit, and even started talking more. He was fascinating to listen to and Zane found himself enjoying their conversations quite a bit. Jay had an understanding of physics and different sciences that Zane hadn’t seen amongst any of their other classmates and it was stimulating to be able to discuss. 

The first time Jay had really gotten going, immersed in a theory and sharing some of the finer points with Zane as he speculated, he suddenly cut himself off. 

“S-sorry,” he apologized, dropping his gaze, and hiding his face in his scarf. 

Zane blinked in confusion. “Why are you apologizing?” 

Jay shifted, picking at the cuffs of his sweater, an embarrassed blush dusting his cheeks. “T-talking to m-much,” he mumbled. 

Zane blinked again, tilting his head. “I do not mind. There is no need to apologize. What you were saying was very interesting, please continue.” 

Jay’s skin went bright pink and he stammered for a moment, seeming flustered, but after a small glance at Cole, he continued. It was a little halting and broken up at first, but Zane only nodded and listened fascinated. He started to gain traction and speak faster and a little louder, hands gesturing wildly at some points as he explained his ideas. 

Zane was genuinely enamoured, giving logical input where he could and expressing his interest every once in a while to keep him talking. They debated a few of the finer points as days progress, Jay getting more comfortable speaking and arguing with him. He still stuttered frequently and would quiet himself and stop moving his hands every once in a while, but was gradually relaxing. 

It was nice to speak to someone so clever and intelligent, and he told Jay that one afternoon. Jay turned pink again and hid his face in his scarf, with a muffled “ _thanks.”_

Zane gave him a bright smile. 

Cole listened to their conversations quietly. His headphones were off most of the time, but he did wear them occasionally and Zane could pick up the music that he was playing very easily. It was repetitive and Zane wondered if it helped him focus. There were some times in which his headphones would be on, but nothing would be playing and he would just sit, listening to them talk. 

Jay almost seemed… more talkative, when Cole had his headphones on. Zane wondered about that, but didn’t think it would be appropriate to pry. 

The first time Cole had added something to their conversations, Jay had startled a little bit, shrinking slightly, and looking embarrassed, like he hadn’t realized he had been listening. 

Zane responded to Cole’s question, giving Jay a moment to recover. Cole looked a little sad, but seemed to accept Jay’s more quiet hesitant tone now that he knew he was listening. 

Zane could tell Cole didn’t understand half of what they were saying, but he was surprisingly comfortable with it, occasionally asking them to explain things which Zane did gladly. It took Jay a few times to even _begin_ to be comfortable with explaining something, and he always did it softly, even quieter than usual for some reason. 

Cole wasn’t always able to quite grasp what they were saying, but he didn’t ask them to dumb down for him. Jay tried to once. 

“Don’t do that,” Cole said suddenly, effectively stopping all conversation at the table. 

Jay flinched, voice quiet, and he stared down at the table. “Do what?” 

“Dumb yourself down for me,” Cole told him sharply. “You don’t need to pretend that you’re not smarter than me, to make me feel comfortable.” 

Jay sunk in his seat a little. 

“Agreed,” Zane added, with a firm nod. “If someone is uncomfortable with the concept of another person being smarter than them, it is because they are _allowing_ it to make them feel insignificant. It is a sign of low-self esteem in others, when they try to tear you down. They are not confident in themselves, so they do not wish for anyone else to be either.”

He turned to look at Jay fully. “You are smarter than every single human in this school, and if that scares them, that’s their problem.” 

A blush exploded across Jay’s freckled face. 

His eyes darted between him and Cole for a moment, face reddening even further, sinking back a little more, but Zane could tell it was more out of being flustered than it was out of nervousness. 

“Sorry for snapping at you,” Cole said quietly after a moment of silence. He wasn’t looking at either of them, but his body language and his expression implied he was feeling guilty. 

“S’okay,” Jay mumbled into his scarf. 

“I mean it though,” Cole said, looking at him. “You’re really smart, Jay. And I like it when you talk, even if I don’t understand some of it.” He dropped his eyes, voice quieting as he finished. “I don’t want you to stop just cause I can’t keep up.” 

“You’re smart too,” Jay argued feebly, from behind his scarf. 

Cole’s mouth twitched into a small smile. “Thanks, Jay.” 

Zane felt himself smile at both of them. “We are all smart, just in different ways.” 

Cole laughed a little at that and some of the tension dissipated. 

“You’re probably smarter than me,” Jay told Zane with a smile. 

Zane considered that with a smile. “Perhaps. But I am not--” he stopped himself abruptly, tensing when he realized what he’d been about to say. The two boys looked at him curiously, and he cleared his throat, pushing away his momentary panic. 

“Nevermind,” he managed to say, dropping his eyes, suddenly unable to hold their gaze, and picked up a pretzel so he wouldn’t have to say anything further. 

Conversation picked up again after a few minutes, but he could feel a few more curious glances on him from the others when he wasn’t looking. 

Lunch continued as always until the bell rang and they said their goodbyes. 

He maintained his calm composure throughout the rest of the day, all the while his mind racing. 

He nearly slipped up. How could he have almost slipped up? He had been so careful. He never would have thought that he would become so complacent. 

_I’m not human_. 

He hadn’t even thought about it at all. He had just started to say the words; had been so at ease, and genuinely comfortable in their company, that he’d nearly given himself away. 

They might’ve thought it was a joke if he had finished speaking, he reasoned later, but it was still concerning. He wasn’t sure it was safe to be around them anymore if he was going to give himself away like that. It was what he’d been worried about all along, and now he didn’t know what to do about it. 

  
  
  


______________

  
  
  
  


When their group project was completed, Zane stopped answering their texts. 

At lunch, he grabbed his lunch tray and walked out of the cafetiera without even looking at them.

Cole watched him go, an uncomfortable ache in his chest. 

“I talked too much,” Jay whispered, sinking in his seat. 

Cole’s head snapped to him. “No. No, you didn’t. This is not your fault.” He glanced at where Zane had disappeared and hesitated. He’d been off for the past couple of days, not meeting their eyes and talking quieter. 

“I think… there’s something else going on with him.” 

  
  
  


____________

  
  
  
  


Zane felt horrible. 

The startled, hurt look on both the boys faces, when he’d walked past, nearly had him turning back around, but he forced himself to continue out the cafeteria doors. 

They’d had each other long before they’d met him, and they’d be just fine without him now. 

The air was warm and his sensores registered a slight breeze that he could feel on his face. He sat down on the steps outside the front of the school, and started on his lunch. He had missed sitting outside a little, but he couldn’t really enjoy it, too busy replaying their faces in his head over and over again.

He would see them in the halls occasionally, and would steer himself in the opposite direction, away from them before they could notice him in return. He wasn’t sure he could take another shattered look from Jay without shutting down. 

He could feel Cole’s gaze on him sometimes, in the classes that they shared, but he kept his own eyes steadfastly forward, and his expression locked into something carefully neutral. 

Jay seemed a lot quieter, whenever he saw him, even when he was with Cole. Zane couldn’t deny the stab of guilt he felt at the sight, but his fear outweighed his wish to apologize and sit with them again. 

He had no idea how they would react to him being a nindroid, and he had no plans on finding out. 

  
  
  


____________

  
  
  
  


He didn’t notice his systems were glitching until midway through the morning. 

Something sparked in his chest and his face spasmed. 

He froze in the middle of the hallway. 

Luckily he’d been walking close to the wall so no one seemed to notice, the students simply continuing to walk past, talking to one another or looking down at their phones. 

He breathed for a moment, forcing himself to calm down. His fingers twitched and the joints of his legs locked up for a moment, forcing him to place a hand against the wall to keep his balance. 

There was a whirring sound that he knew wasn’t a good sign, but no one seemed to notice in the loud hallway. 

It was a small glitch, something that had happened a few times before, but never inside the school, and anxiety spiked through him at being so out in the open while vulnerable. 

The moment his joints unlocked, he slipped into the custodial closet that was closeby.

He closed the door behind him, and slipped through a few of the shelves and the furnace, all the way to the back of the fairly sized room, before turning and then leaning his back against the back wall, sliding down until he was sitting on the cold concrete floor. He tilted his head back and let it rest against the wall for a moment, trying to collect himself. His eyes were glowing bright enough to light up some of the space. 

There were mops and buckets, various tools he did not recognize, and containers of chemical cleaners around him. The dark made him feel a bit safer, the sound of the students muffled through the door, already fading as they headed to class. 

He considered just going home, and having his father take a look at what had triggered it, but before he could come to a decision, he heard the door open, light flooding inside the space, and he froze. 

He was at the back, so the light didn't quite reach him and he was hidden behind the few shelves and tools that filled the small space. As long as they didn’t come back--

“Zane?” 

Jay. 

He felt a stab of panic. 

He should have checked before ducking into the closet, but he had been too alarmed to process clearly. He hadn’t thought to do it, and now Jay was in the closet with him, and his eyes were glowing. 

He shut them tight to hide the light they gave off and tried not to make a sound. 

The door shut with a creak and a click and he thought he was gone for a moment, until shuffling footsteps reached his auditory sensors and he stiffened. 

Something sparked in his chest again at his distress, making his face spasm and his eyes blink rapidly. 

A small intake of breath made his eyes snap up and he saw Jay standing a few feet away, looking at him with wide eyes. 

His face was illuminated in the soft blue light that radiated from his eyes, and Zane tensed, unable to stop staring back. 

“Zane?” Jay said, voice very small. 

Zane shrunk back fearfully, shoulders hunching. “I---” 

His circrity glitched again and his eyes flickered. There was no way Jay hadn’t noticed the glow now. 

Words lodged in his throat, mind racing, circuitry sparking, numbers and code racing past his vision, overwhelming his sight. 

He shut down. 

  
  
  
  


____________

  
  
  
  


There was a pop that made Jay yelp. The blue light shining from Zane’s eyes abruptly cut out leaving the room in a sudden darkness, and he slumped forward lifelessly. 

Jay stumbled back, bumping into one of the shelves, his heart racing as he stared wide-eyed at the silhouette of Zane’s limp body in the darkness. 

His eyes had been glowing, and there were sparks-- 

Jay stared at him for a solid thirty seconds, then laughed a little hysterically into the silence. 

It was Ninjago, right? This wasn’t the weirdest thing that had happened to him since he’d started attending public school. 

Well, okay, maybe it was. If it was what he was thinking it was anyway. And he was pretty sure it was. 

“Jay?” Cole's voice came, and he jumped slightly. 

“I’m here,” he called back to his best friend, who was waiting for him outside. 

The door opened, filling the room with light for a moment before it closed again. 

“Is he okay?” 

“Uh… I’m… not--I don’t…” his throat felt dry. “I’m--I’m not sure,” he whispered. 

There was a click and a small light on the ceiling lit up. At the same moment, Zane sat up, ramrod straight, making Jay flinch. 

His eyes were entirely glowing blue, no whites to be seen, code scrolling past on them like on a computer, but the numbers reversed, making Jay think that they were designed for Zane to be able to read them himself. 

Cole came around the corner and stopped next to him abruptly, but Jay couldn’t tear his eyes away from Zane to see his reaction. 

There was a series of small beeps, then Zane blinked, the light fading back to his normal blue. His eyes flicked up to them, and he froze. 

  
  
  
  


_____________

  
  
  
  
  


There was a tense silence in which they all just stared at each other. 

Zane couldn’t bring himself to keep the contact, and dropped his eyes to the ground, shoulders hunching under their gaze. 

He had made a grave error. 

His face spasmed suddenly, eyes flickering with a sparking sound, and his head twitched sharply twice. 

All of a sudden Cole was in front of him. “Whoah, Zane, you okay?” he asked, urgently, placing a concerned hand on his shoulder. 

Zane stilled after a final twitch and he stared at Cole, who was just looking at him worriedly. 

“I am fine,” he finally said quietly, eyes dropping to the ground, and head hanging a little. “Just… glitching.” He really didn’t know what else to say. There wasn’t anything he really _could_ say. Despite his best efforts, they knew, and that was the end of it. 

Cole watched him for a moment before sitting back on his heels. “Do you need us to call anybody?” 

He was confused for a moment but then shook his head, still not looking at him. “No. I will be fine,” his internal clock beeped signaling to him that classes were starting. “You should probably head to class. You’re late.” 

He could feel Cole watching him again, then the boy shrugged and readjusted his position so he was sitting cross legged on the floor in front of him. “Eh, it’s not a big deal if we miss a couple classes. I’d much rather make sure you’re alright.” 

Zane stared at him. 

“Y-yeah,” Jay said, shifting on his feet for a moment, before deterimidnely coming to kneel next to Cole. “We’re worried about you.” 

Zane blinked. “You’re…” he shook his head, bewildered, his brows furrowing. “I don’t understand.” 

“What?” Cole said, also looking confused. “That we were worried?” 

“Yes--no,” Zane felt his face twitch again. “You--” he huffed, mouth twisting into a grimace. “I'm not human.” 

The words were out, and he couldn’t bring himself to look at them. 

“Okay,” Cole said. 

Zane’s head snapped up and he stared at him. 

Cole looked to be the epitome of casual, and even Jay didn’t look any more nervous than he usually did. 

“You seem… to be taking this rather well,” he said cautiously. 

Cole shrugged. “I don’t see why there would be a problem.” 

Zane stared at him. “I am not human,” he repeated, just in case he had missed it. 

Cole laughed a little, smiling at him fondly. “Yeah I got that, bud.” 

Zane blinked several times. “I don’t understand.” 

“Is that why you stopped talking to us?” Jay asked quietly. 

Zane turned his head to look at him, and Jay met his eyes with a fierceness that he hadn’t seen him use before. 

He couldn’t help but shrink back slightly. “I…” He blinked, then lowered his gaze. “I was apprehensive to you both discovering my true nature, so I began avoiding you to prevent such a thing from occurring, yes.”

“Why?” Jay asked, softly. 

Zane’s eyes darted to look at him for a moment before he stared determinedly at the ground again. “I was… unsure of how you would react.” 

“You stopped talking to us because you were afraid we wouldn’t like you if we found out you were a robot?” 

“Nindriod,” he corrected him, automatically. Then quieter he answered. “Yes.” 

They didn't say anything so he continued. 

“My father has had to relocate us several times due to my nature being revealed. Most are not comfortable around a sentient android. I… did not want him to have to uproot his life again, so I tried to keep my distance to keep anyone from discovering.” He curled up a little. “I did not intend to get as close to you as I did. It was my mistake but I… You’re both so very kind and I enjoy your company, and I...” 

He breathed, brows furrowing slightly as he blinked. “I am sorry. I did not mean to cause you emotional pain.” 

He prepared himself for their rejection. 

“Does this… d-does this m-mean you’ll start s-sitting with us a-again?” 

Zane’s head snapped up and he stared at Jay, startled. “You…” he blinked. “You want me to?” 

“Well, yeah,” Cole said, drawing his attention with a wry smile. “We’re friends, you being made of wires doesn’t change that.” 

“Friends?” he repeated, the word feeling foreign in his mouth. 

“Yeah. I can take a look to see what might be making you glitch,” Jay offered, making him look at him. He fiddled with his fingers a little. “If-if you want. I m-might be able to h-help.” 

Zane’s processor must have been clogged, because all he could do was stare at him and nod dumbly. 

Jay smiled at that, relief making his shoulders relax slightly. 

Zane readjusted his position so he was mirroring Jay’s, kneeling on the hard concrete in front of him, and carefully pulled off his shirt so he had access to his chest panel, before opening it. 

Jay made a strangled giggly sound, slapping his hands over his mouth, and Zane looked at him with a blink. 

“Sorry,” Jay apologized, his hands uncovering his mouth and squishing against his cheeks slightly as he smiled so wide it was almost a grin. “This is just… _so_ cool.” 

Cole huffed a laugh, making Jay blush a little. 

He scooted forward so he could reach, and inspected Zane’s inner gears and wires, a look of awe on his face. 

“Wow,” he breathed. 

Zane wasn’t sure how to feel. 

“Oh!” Jay said suddenly, reaching forward. “I see what the problem is.” 

Before Zane could even feel worried a light zap went through him and he straightened up, blinking several times. Nothing happened after that and his vision seemed to clear a little. He hadn’t realized that it had started to pixilate. He lifted his hand flexing his fingers and felt no resistance. 

He blinked again, then looked at Jay, feeling mildly surprised. “Thank you.” 

Jay beamed at him, a light blush on his cheeks. “No problem.” He bit his lip and hid his smile in his scarf. 

Cole yawned as Zane slipped his shirt back on. 

“Think we’ll get in trouble if we just stay here all day?” he asked tiredly, rubbing at his eyes. 

“How much sleep did you get last night?” Jay asked, laughter in his voice. 

Cole huffed, with a slight scowl. “I got distracted, okay.” 

“Sleep is necessary for your body to function properly,” Zane told him, because it was true. 

Cole groaned. “Not you too.” He huffed and crossed his arms. 

“Come on,” Jay said, standing up, stumbling slightly, but then finding his feet, looking a little embarrassed at his blunder. “W-we gotta get to--to class.” 

“Yeah,” Cole sighed, standing up as well. “I guess using the bathroom as an excuse can only work for so long.” He looked down at Zane with a smile, offering his hand to help him up. 

“You coming?” 

Zane looked up at the both of them, before smiling hesitantly back, reaching for Cole’s hand. 

“Yeah.” 

  
  
  
  
  


________________

  
  
  
  
  
  


Zane spotted Cole and Jay as he arrived at the school and rushed to catch them on the front steps. 

“Hello, fellow teenagers,” he greeted them, with an excited smile, as they turned to him. 

Cole laughed. “Hey, Zane,” he said back, with a massive fond smile, eyes crinkling. 

Zane beamed at him. 

“Hi,” Jay said, waving with a smaller, but no less genuine, smile. “How’s your s-system feeling?” 

“Optimal,” Zane said brightly. “And yours?” 

Jay muffled his giggle in his scarf. “Op-optimal too.” 

“Excellent,” Zane smiled earnestly. “I’m glad.” 

“Come on, guys,” Cole said, laughter still colouring in his voice as he steered them both forward “Let's head inside.” 

_Friends_ , Zane thought to himself, as they entered the school. 

He could get used to this. 

  
  
  
  


_______________

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, well, I love writing Zane lol lkdfalsdfm 
> 
> Drop me a comment if you so desire, they give me life dlfkjasd


	4. The Smith Siblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kai and Nya crash the party.

They rode up to the school on Nya’s motorcycle. 

Kai was already grinning when he pulled his helmet off, and slipped off the bike.  Nearly half the kids heading inside had stopped to gawk at them, and Kai didn’t bother to suppress his laugh. 

One thing about his sister was that she sure knew how to make an entrance.

“And here we are,” Kai said dramatically, tossing her the helmet so she could store it away in her backpack, and placing his hands firmly on his hips. “Another year, another school. Destined to deal with dummies for the rest of our miserable teenhood.” 

“Oh, please,” Nya scoffed, laughter in her voice. “You’re excited.” 

“Heck yeah I am!” Kai grinned back at her. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and Garmadon will attack the school so we can go home early and not have to come back for a week due to property damage and unsafe building conditions.” 

Nya shook her head with a huff as they walked forward. “You know you’re going to actually have to do the work if you want to graduate, right?” 

“Maybe they’d give me a free ride since it would be out of my control.” 

“They’d probably just send you the homework online.” 

“ _ Laaaame _ ,” Kai said, dropping his head back as they entered the building. The tiles on the ceiling were white, with an occasional off white one placed here and there. He wondered if it was part of the design or someone had jumped too high and broken random tiles so they had to replace them. 

“You got your schedule?” Nya asked once they were in the crowded hallway. 

“Survey says…” he rummaged through his pockets, trailing off. His fingers brushed against a crumpled piece of paper and he drew it out, smoothing it out just enough to glimpse a few words before looking up at Nya with a grin. “Yes!” 

“Cool,” Nya laughed. 

“See you at lunch?” Kai asked as she walked away. 

“Always,” she said, when she turned back to shoot him a grin, then turned away again before disappearing into the crowded hallway. 

It took Kai a hot minute to locate his locker and another hot minute to locate his first class. 

And by hot minute he meant, long enough that the bell had rung and the halls were nearly empty and he still had no idea where he was going. 

He ran towards the first person he saw, before they could all vanish into classrooms. 

“Hey! Dude! Green Guy!” he called, and the boy in the green hoodie turned to him, looking startled. 

“Me?” 

“Yeah,” Kai said, feeling a little relieved. He whipped out his crumbled paper to find which class he was supposed to be headed to again. “Thanks for stopping. Hey, so, could you show me where uh… whatever this is?” 

“ _ Yes! _ ” he exclaimed, startling Kai. They guy froze, a light blush coming onto his face, and took a step backwards, laughing awkwardly. “S-sorry.” 

“Awesome!” Kai grinned at him brightly, ignoring the apology. “You are the best, dude, seriously. I really appreciate--Yooo sweet sneakers, love the colour.” 

“Th-thanks,” he stammered, looking at Kai in something almost akin to awe. 

Kai shrugged it off as they started to walk and chatted with the kid all the way to his class. 

The dude looked like he was genuinely surprised Kai was talking to him the entire way there, but Kai didn’t think much of it. 

“Here we are,” he said, as they reached a door. The halls were empty now, and Kai counted at least four gum wrappers in a ten foot radius of them. 

“Thanks, dude,” Kai said, giving him a massive grin and offering his hand for a fist bump, and--oh, gods, was this guy okay? He looked like Kai had just offered him the moon. 

He stared at his hand like it was made of solid gold for a solid four seconds before seeming to snap out of whatever zone-out or state of shock he’d been in and rushing to finish the fist bump. 

“Thanks again, dude,” Kai waved, as he opened the door, heading inside his class. 

“Yeah,” he said, staring after him, the awed look still on his face. “No problem.” 

Kai laughed a little. You’d think the kid gotten a fist bump before. 

There were a lot of weird looks waiting for Kai when he got inside the class, but that was nothing new, especially since he was new. People always gave new kids weird, or bored looks. 

_ Weird kid, _ Kai thought as he plopped down into his seat. 

He decided he liked him. 

  
  
  


_____________

  
  


“Hey, mind if I sit here?” Kai asked, bouncing on his heels. 

The dark haired guy looked up from his workbook and blinked. “Uh, yeah, sure.” 

Kai offered him a grin and flopped down next to him. “Thanks. Hi, I’m Kai.” 

“Cole,” Cole returned, a smile twitching at his mouth. He had a pair of headphones hanging around his neck. 

“Nice headphones,” Kai said, as they waited for the teacher. “You know the Fold?” 

Cole perked up a little at that. “Yeah,” he said, looking surprised. Made sense, not a lot of people actually knew the band by name, so it was always instant kinship when meeting another fan. Or so he’d experienced so far. 

“Nice,” Kai grinned at him. “Treble Makers?” 

“Not a huge fan of their stuff,” Cole confessed, but he was smiling. 

“Me neither,” Kai grinned. “It’s mostly just noise and the lead guy can’t carry a tune to save his life, but noise helps me focus sometimes so they’re good for chaotic background static.” 

Cole laughed. 

“You got any good artists you could rec me?” he asked, whipping out his phone. “I’m always open to new stuff. The more the better.” 

Cole smiled. “I might have a few.” 

Kai grinned right back. “Awesome!” 

  
  
  
  


___________

  
  
  
  


Cole introduced him to a couple of his friends as the day progressed. 

Jay was extremely quiet, and Kai knew he could be overwhelming and pretty loud sometimes, so he made sure to listen as closely as he could whenever he said something so he wouldn’t feel like he was drawing him out or anything. 

He wasn’t really sure how to talk to the guy until he mentioned comics and Jay just  _ lit up _ . 

Kai immediately froze. “Fritz--” he started cautiously. 

“Donagane!” Jay finished with him, a grin coming onto his face. 

“Yes!” Kai grinned, stimming his hands, flapping them wildly in excitement. He stopped and looked at Jay seriously. “Your thoughts on the movies,” he said urgently. “Go.” 

“The worst cinematic disaster in existence, and n-not even in a good way,” Jay said. He proceeded to start pointing out everything they got wrong, Kai nodding vehemently for every point he made, when suddenly Jay cut himself off, flushing, seeming embarrassed, and hid his face in his scarf. “S-sorry I--”

“Agreed!” Kai exclaimed immediately, before he could apologize further. He then proceeded to freight train into the next six things the movie got wrong, waving his hands wildly, to make sure Jay knew he didn’t mind him talking  _ at all _ , and Jay seemed to loosen up again, forgetting his embarrassment and agreeing, even waving his hands a little, which made Kai grin. 

“What were they thinking?!” 

“I know right!? They totally butchered it!” 

They chatted until the bell pried them apart, and Cole gave Kai a smile, and relaxed around him, making him think he’d passed some sort of unspoken test with the guy.

He wasn’t sure what he’d done but he’d accept his comfort gladly! 

It wasn’t long after that he introduced him to his other friend. 

Zane was weird, and Kai liked him instantly. 

He was genuine, if a little oblivious to some social cues. But then again, so was Kai, so he could hardly hold that against him. 

He eagerly taught him what a fist bump was, showing him the explosion feature, just because. 

Zane was a really fast learner, so Kai tried to add a few more things on and was freaking  _ thrilled _ when Zane memorized his secret handshake within thirty seconds. He had been waiting for this moment all his life, and right there in the hallway of the new school he got to do his stupidly long, ridiculously complicated handshake, that Nya refused to learn, which Zane executed flawlessly. 

“This is literally the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Kai gushed, dancing on his feet. 

“That was… fun,” Zane decided after a moment, nodding with a happy smile. 

Kai grinned at him. 

  
  


_____________

  
  
  
  


Kai found Nya almost the instant he entered the cafetiera and waved wildly to gain her attention, ignoring the weird or annoyed looks he got from the students around him. 

She perked up when her eyes landed on him and headed over. 

“Sup, sis?” he greeted with a grin, when she reached him. “How’s your morning been?” 

She groaned, dragging her hands down her face. “I already have homework. You?” 

“Yikes,” Kai said. “If we got any, I wasn’t paying attention.” He ignored her pointed look and continued. “--But I met three pretty cool dudes! I think you’d like them. Jay’s a little quiet and Zane’s weird but they’re all really cool and I--Oh! Hey! Cole!” He waved at the guy as he entered the cafeteria. 

“No, wait, he’s got his headphones on. Kay, hold on--” 

He grabbed Nya’s arm and pulled her through the crowded area over to the boy, who noticed them as they approached, and Kai felt slightly honored when he took his headphones off for them with a smile. 

“Hey, Kai,” he greeted warmly. 

“Greetings!” Kai grinned at him. “I’d like you to meet my baby sister, Nya!” 

“Oh,” Cole said, looking genuinely surprised. “Hey. Nice to meet you. I’m Cole. I think I saw you in a couple of my classes.” 

“Cool to meet you too,” Nya said with a smile. 

“ _ You _ make any friends?” Kai asked her, challengingly, making Cole laugh a little. 

“Nah,” Nya said. “Not really. Everyone’s too busy gossiping. I did talk to this one guy that seemed alright though--Oh, hey, Jay.” 

“Dang it,” Kai cursed, and Nya grinned at him. 

“H-hi,” Jay said, coming up to them timidly. He bit his lip before daring to ask. “Are--are you two s-siblings?” 

Kai offered him a grin. “Yup!” he patted Nya’s shoulder. “This here’s my baby sis!” 

“Are you twins?” came a voice behind them, startling everyone except Cole, who just smiled. 

“Nope,” Nya answered, being the first to recover. 

“Then…” Zane’s brows furrowed slightly. “You’re in the same grade, are you not?”

“Yeah,” Kai said, waving his hand dismissively. “I got held back a year.” 

“Oh,” Zane said, blinking. “I apologize. That was insensitive of me to ask.” 

“Nah, s’cool, man. I don’t mind,” Kai assured him, shrugging. “Is what it is. Zane, Nya. Nya, Zane. Y’all mind if we sit at your table?” 

“Sure,” Cole said easily. 

And just like that, they had a table to sit at. 

The lunch trays were orange, oddly enough, and most of the cafeteria food was packaged. A little questionable if you asked him, but food was food. 

He and Nya were the last two to make it to the table, the others having gotten in line in front of them. 

All in all, Kai thought the first day of school was going ridiculously well. 

Until he spotted the kid in the green hoodie. 

Kai felt his steps falter. 

Now that most everyone had sat down, he could see across the entire cafetiera, and his eyes landed on the guy, uninterrupted. 

First of all, he was sitting alone, and that in itself was really weird. But what was weirder was the empty tables around him. It was like everyone was trying to sit as far away from him as possible. 

There was barely an empty table in the cafeteria. There were  _ at least _ two people at every single one, excluding those around the guy, and most of them were packed to full capacity, some had even been pushed together so they could fit more people.

Kai stopped completely, and looked at the guy, and then at the cafeteria around him. The situation was not sitting right with him. 

“Kai?” Nya prompted curiously, from where she sat at the table with the others a few feet away. 

He hesitated for a moment more but took the last couple of steps and plopped into the free space next to her at the edge of the table. “Hey, what’s up with Quarantine Corner over there?” 

Zane was the first to understand what he was referring to. There was a flicker in his eye, Kai thought he might have imagined and he straightened up for a moment before relaxing again. 

“Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon. Son of the Evil Lord Garmadon. Fifteen years old,” he reported, as though reading from a file. 

Kai stared at him, jaw dropping. “No. Way.  _ The _ Lord Garmadon?” 

“And he goes to this school?” Nya said, looking surprised. She bit into her sandwich, making her next words muffled. “Whack yo.” 

Kai couldn’t tear his eyes away from the kid sitting alone, his food forgotten. 

“Why is no one sitting near him?” he murmured, almost to himself. 

“He’s L-Lord G-Garmadon’s son,” Jay mumbled, picking at his food. 

“That’s not a reason,” Kai frowned. 

That finally drew Cole’s attention. “It is kinda weird, huh?” 

“You’re just noticing that now?” Nya asked, with a raised eyebrow. 

“I don’t really pay attention to the school’s drama,” he told her. “Best to avoid it, so I didn’t bother looking around. Usually keep my headphones on, so I miss a lot of stuff.” 

“Seems dumb,” she told him honestly. 

“Thanks for the call out.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

Something just wasn’t sitting right with him. 

“But… he’s nice?” 

They stopped eating and looked at him. 

Kai frowned. “He’s really chill, I don’t understand.” 

“Most people do not wish to be associated with him due to his parentage,” Zane informed him. “They do not wish to get on Garmadon’s bad side, nor do they wish to get involved.” 

It was at that moment that there was a resounding  _ boom _ that effectively ended the conversation. The entire cafeteria shook with the force of it, and Kai and Nya shot out of their seats, startled. 

Another booming sound came. 

“What was that?” Nya demanded. 

“ _ Attention students, _ ” a voice crackled over the loudspeaker. “ _ There is another attack. Please remain indoors, until the attack is over and the police have dealt with Lord Garmadon. _ ” 

A collective groan went up. 

“Thanks,  _ Lloyd, _ ” everyone said at once and Lloyd just sat there until everyone had looked away then hunched slightly and dropped his eyes to the table. He let his cheek rest against his arms atop the table and stared despondent down at his small lunch. 

Kai’s jaw dropped. 

“Are you kidding me?” he demanded. He whirled around to look at the group. “And none of this seems wrong to you all?” 

Jay sunk in his seat, hiding his face in his scarf and mumbled something Kai couldn’t hear. 

Cole was watching Lloyd, a furrow in his brow, looking guilty. 

Zane tilted his head. “It does seem rather cruel. I used to eat outside, and do not share any classes with him, so I have not been witness to this until now.” 

“I always had my headphones on,” Cole said quietly. 

“Right,” Kai said, grabbing his tray, fuming. “Well, then, now that you’ve all made your excuses, I’m gonna go sit with Blamed-For-Something-He-Has-No-Control-Over.” 

He turned away but Jay’s arms shot out to grab his sleeve. “Wait! Kai! No! You c-can’t d-do that!” 

Nya was already gathering up her tray. Kai looked at him. “Why not?” 

“B-because--because they’ll--they’ll--” his voice grew smaller and smaller, and he shrunk more under his stare. 

“I don’t care if they start bullying me too,” Kai told him harshly, and Jay flinched back. Kai felt abruptly guilty and he sighed. “Sorry, sorry Jay, I didn’t mean to snap. I just… I don’t like it. He doesn’t deserve any of this. He’s just a really genuinely nice dude.” 

“Green hoodie,” Nya mused. “Isn’t he that guy who helped you find your class?” 

“Yeah,” Kai said. 

“Well, I guess this explains why he lost it over the fist bump, you’re probably the first person to actually talk to him.” 

“That just makes me feel worse,” Kai groaned. He would have dragged his hands over his face if they weren’t currently full of his lunch tray. He fixed the group in a determined stare. “I’m going over there. You all can stay here, but I’m changing this.” 

Without waiting for any of their replies he promptly marched off in the direction of Lloyd Garmadon. 

  
  


_________

  
  
  
  


They watched Kai march away, Nya right behind him. 

There was silence at the table for a moment then Cole started to gather up his tray. 

“W-what are you doing?” Jay stammered, staring up at him in panicked worry. 

Cole gave him an apologetic smile. “Something I should’ve done a while ago. You can stay here with Zane, Jay. It’s okay.” 

“Wh—no!” Jay exclaimed standing up. His hands were shaking slightly but he looked determined. “If you’re going I’m coming too.” 

“You don’t have to do that,” Cole said softly, knowing how scared he must be. 

“N-no. K-Kai’s r-right. I-if he—if you—I’m _ going. _ ” 

They both looked at Zane. 

“I see no point in remaining here if you wish for me to accompany you both,” he shrugged. “I have no aversion to sitting with Lloyd Garmadon.” 

Jay gathered up his tray, and Zane picked his up as well. Then the three of them followed the siblings, Cole dropping his lunch tray in the return bin on the way over since he’d already finished eating.

  
  
  


___________

  
  
  
  
  


Maybe it was slightly crazy. Day one and he was going to go sit with the literal outcast of the city, but Lloyd was nice. His excitement when Kai had offered him a fist bump of all things was puppy-like and certainly not threatening. 

Don’t judge a book by it’s cover and don’t judge a person by their parents. He’d be going against everything he believed if he didn’t give him a chance before assuming the worst about him. 

A few people started to notice where he was walking and he could feel the stares on his back as he passed. 

Whatever, nothing new. Lloyd probably dealt with worse every day. 

“Excuse me,” Kai said, when he reached the table. 

Lloyd’s head shot up, in startled surprise and when his eyes landed on his face they widened and he blinked, shoulders tensing. 

“Mind if I sit here?” Kai asked him pointedly. 

Lloyd stared at him uncomprehendingly, which only solidified his decision further. 

He slammed his tray down, making him jump and plopped down next to him with a huff. 

The entire cafeteria was staring at him, including Lloyd. 

Before anyone could react Nya was plopping down across from them. “Sup,” she said. “Thanks for showing my dork brother where to go when he got lost this morning.” 

“I was not lost,” Kai grumbled, grabbing a wrapped cookie and tearing into the wrapping. “I just didn’t feel like looking.” 

“He always says that,” she stage-whispered to Lloyd who was still staring at them both with even wider eyes. 

He jerked in surprise when Cole suddenly slid into the spot next to him. Kai watched as he offered the boy a small, almost apologetic smile before he was slipping on his headphones and leaning back in his seat, throwing his legs up onto the table, completely relaxed in the seat next to him closing his eyes. 

Lloyd gaped. 

Jay plopped down next to Nya, looking shaky. “Th-this is a r-really w-weird t-table to-to sit at. I f-feel l-like we’re in a—in a different s-school.” 

“Agreed, it is a pleasantly differing view from the usual,” Zane agreed, sitting next to him placing his tray down carefully. “Hello, Lloyd,” he greeted with a friendly smile. 

“Hi,” Lloyd said back, the word was more of a breathy high pitched exhale, sounding like it was punched out of him. 

Kai grinned at them all. 

Whisper’s were starting but the table ignored them. 

“Looks like Garmadork found some loser friends,” a voice jeered. 

Kai flipped them off without looking up from his lunch, making Jay bark out a startled laugh and then promptly slap his hands over his mouth. 

Nya munched on her sandwich, not even bothering to turn around to flip them off as well. 

Cole’s lips were twitching into a smile, Jay was looking both horrified and elated, and Zane looked mildly confused, held tilted to the side as though processing their actions. 

Kai glanced at Lloyd who hadn’t stopped staring at them all in something that was almost awe. He looked like he might’ve thought he was hallucinating and looked at Kai, unsure but almost desperate. 

“Hey,” he said, offering him a grin and holding out his fist, a clear invitation. “Us hoodie folks gotta stick together, right?” 

Lloyd’s eyes were pulled down to his offered fist and then up to his face, the wide eyed look still lingering on his face. He laughed, almost borderline hysterically, elatedly and hesitatingly bumped their fists together. “Yeah,” he agreed breathlessly. 

Kai offered him a big sincere smile to make sure he knew it wasn’t a joke like he looked like he thought it might be and went back to munching on his food, ignoring the rest of the people in the cafeteria. 

The whole school already disliking them for associating with a super nice guy that everyone seemed to hate because of his dad? 

Yup. 

Kai grinned. 

  
The school year was off to a good start. 

  
  
  
  
  


_________________

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FRIENDSSSSSSS >:D 
> 
> Am I writing cliches? MAYBE. 
> 
> I think I miscalculated their ages somewhere in here, so just *swats aside timeline* ignore that all. Nya's supposed to be fifteen and Kai sixteen right now. Yes, she's driving illegally, but only if they're caught. Which they weren't, so... totally legal! 
> 
> (Thank you to everyone who keeps commenting, I feeling like I could backflip off a roof and stick the landing when I get so much as a heart emoji sdlkfmasdlf)
> 
> One more chapter to go!


	5. Green Hoodie Guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lloyd has friends!

Lloyd didn’t mention it to his mom the first day. 

He got home, feeling in a bit of a daze, dropping his bag on the floor as he took off one of his shoes. He paused for a moment to just… crouch down in the hallway and stare at his own hands for no reason. 

“Lloyd?” his mom called. “Is that you?” 

“Yeah, mom,” he managed to call back, without moving. “It’s me.” He doubted she heard the last two words because his voice dropped into something quieter. 

He forced himself to his feet, slipping off his other shoe and leaving his bag in the entrance in favour of simply heading inside to hug his mom like he always did. 

She asked him how his day went and he decided not to tell her. Just in case. It could have been a one time thing. A fluke. A… a joke? Kai didn’t seem like the kind of person to make that sort of joke, but… well, it was crazy, right?

The group had stuck to his side for the rest of the day, at least one of them either sitting by him during class, or walking with him down the hallway in between them at all times. They’d even hung out with him as he waited for the bus. 

Whispers followed them, and several people had jeered at them, but they all completely ignored them, talking to Lloyd like they weren’t even there. He had… he had no idea how to react. He’d wanted it for so long, but he… he didn’t know. He still felt like he might be imagining it. 

He really hoped he wasn’t. 

  
  
  


_______________

  
  
  
  


“Uncle Wu?” he called as he arrived on the Destiny’s Bounty. 

He looked around a bit, but couldn’t seem to find his uncle anywhere, so he just dropped his bag on the kitchen table and opened the fridge to see if he could find a late night snack. 

“Ah! Lloyd,” his uncle said suddenly, materializing out of nowhere

“Ah!” Lloyd yelped, jumping, his head hitting the top of the fridge. “Ow,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. 

His uncle continued, undeterred by his reaction. 

“I’m glad you are here. I was just finishing a small obstacle course for you to go through.” He took a kettle of boiling water off the stove, and picked a teacup out of the cupboard. “How was school?” 

“Uh,” Lloyd said, thinking back to the day. 

“Good,” he finally said, after a few moments, looking down and picking up the near-empty container of strawberries from the fridge. 

His uncle stopped, then looked at him, pinning Lloyd under his gaze and making him tense. 

“Good?” he repeated, cautiously, eyes not leaving Lloyd’s face. 

“Y-yeah,” Lloyd stammered, suddenly feeling defensive. “Good, fine, normal. It was normal. Whatever.” 

He marched off to the sink with his strawberries. 

Wu looked after him pensively. 

“Hm,” was all he said. 

Lloyd wasn’t really sure what to make of the sound. 

  
  
  


______________

  
  
  
  


He woke up the next morning, feeling a little like it might’ve been a dream. 

His motions might’ve been too hurried as he got ready for school, despite the soreness from his ninja training. He would usually drag it out a bit, but he… he didn’t want to get his hopes up but… maybe. 

He hugged his mom goodbye and headed out the door. 

The bus ride was the same as always, but he felt a nervous energy that kept him drumming his fingers on his leg and staring out the window the whole ride. 

He stepped off the bus, and, after everyone finished glaring at him and had turned away, going back to ignoring him completely, he couldn’t quite stop himself from searching for the faces from the day before. 

He got inside, hesitating almost every step. 

“Hey, Lloyd,” someone greeted him, when he reached his locker and he nearly jumped out of his skin. 

He spun around to see Cole opening up the locker a few spaces away. 

“Hi,” he croaked out. 

Cole looked at him for a moment, looking oddly guilty, then huffed and gave him a small smile. “Relax, dude. You look like I'm going to throw you into your locker.” 

Lloyd gave a nervous, almost hysterical laugh, that he hadn’t meant to let out, and swallowed hard. 

“Hi,” another softer voice came, before he could say something stupid, and Jay peeked out from behind Cole. “Y-you’ve got um… there’s something on your b-backpack.” 

“Huh?” Lloyd craned his neck to look at the bag on his back just in time to see a paper being torn off. 

He spun around to see Kai holding the paper up to his face and reading it with an annoyed look. He promptly tore it up and stuffed the scraps into his pockets. 

“Morning Green Bean,” he greeted Lloyd brightly, with a grin, as if nothing had happened. He reached out and ruffled his hair affectionately. 

Lloyd couldn’t quite close his mouth all the way. “Hi,” he managed. 

“Did you all know that they don’t allow motorcycles in the hallways?” Nya said, drawing their attention.

“ _ No _ ,” Kai, said, gasping theatrically, and pressing a shocked hand to his chest. “Imagine that!” 

“Shut up,” Nya laughed, shoving him lightly. Her grin was turned on Lloyd and he felt pinned beneath it. “Hey, Lloyd.” 

“Hey,” he said weakly. 

“Hey, Garmadork,” Chad’s harsh voice came and he tensed up slightly, and closed his eyes for a moment with an inhale to prepare himself for another normal morning. 

He stumbled back when Kai placed himself directly between him and Chad, Nya stepping in front of him as well and completely blocking him from the student’s view. 

He bumped back into Cole, who seemed fine with the contact, offering him a reassuring smile, and Jay caught his arm to pull him behind the bigger boy and next to him. 

Lloyd couldn’t breathe for a moment. 

“They got this,” Jay reassured him quietly, with a small smile. “I’ve k-known Kai and N-Nya for a d-day now, b-but th-they can handle--handle that guy.” 

“Sorry? What was that?” Kai’s voice came, louder than any sounds in the hallway. “I can’t hear you over the volume of your hair.” 

“Get lost, spray-on-tan,” Nya said. “You look like a copy-paste from the 80's.” 

Lloyd didn’t hear Chad’s reply. 

“You okay?” Cole asked, turning to look at him, a look of calm, but genuine concern on his face. 

Lloyd opened and closed his mouth dumbly for a moment, before he nodded, not trusting himself to speak. 

“ _ Yeesh _ ,” Kai said, coming up to them and shooting an annoyed look into the crowd. “It’s like these loser’s have got nothing better to do.” He shook away his annoyance and gave Lloyd a smile that knocked the breath right out of him all over again. “You good?” 

Lloyd’s eyes might’ve been burning. It was fine. He nodded, blinking furious. 

“Hello,” Zane said, materializing by his side and making both him and Jay jump, which made Lloyd feel a little better about his own reaction. “How are you all today?” 

“Fantastic!” Kai grinned aggressively with his hands on his hips. 

“Eh.” Nya said, tilting her hand so-so. 

“F-fine.” Jay stammered. 

“I’m okay.” Cole shrugged with a small smile. 

It was only when Zane turned to look at him expectantly that Lloyd realized he had been asking him too. 

“I’m--” his voice faltered for a second. “I’m good,” he finally managed, voice maybe an octave too high. “You?” 

“I am optimal,” Zane said with a warm smile. “Thank you for asking.” 

“I’ll see you dudes at lunch,” Nya waved. 

“See you later sis!” Kai called, with a wild wave. 

They split up for classes. None of them shared his first class, and Lloyd used it as a moment to breath. 

He sat down at his desk, and someone threw a wadded up piece of paper at the back of his head as he stared out the window. 

He didn’t even bother to look. 

  
  
  
  


__________________

  
  
  
  
  
  


They were waiting for him at lunch at his table. 

They talked to each other, and to him, like it was completely normal. He could barely remember to respond sometimes. 

The day progressed like the previous. They sat next to him in any classes they shared and waited for the bus with him outside after school, all the while, chatting with him and laughing. 

He got home feeling just as dazed as the day before. 

  
  
  
  


___________________

  
  
  
  


The next day played out very much the same, Kai greeting him with a genuine grin and a hair ruffle, Nya and Cole running interference with Chad this time. He left pretty quickly after being confronted with the weight of their combined glares. 

At lunch they were waiting for him at his table, and the massive ‘ _ Garmadork’ _ that had been written across the surface in permanent ink a while ago had been replaced by a messy fire design, completely covering the word. 

Lloyd almost dropped his tray. 

Cole and Kai were drawing across the entire table, decorating it with doodles and going over any graffiti that lived there before. Kai’s were a little messier and most of them in red, whereas Coles looked almost professional. Jay was doodling a small lighting bolt, while looking up every three seconds like he expected someone to come over and start yelling at them. 

Nya plopped down at the table and brightened immediately, before snatching the red marker from Kai, who let out a squawk of protest. 

“Nya! I was using that!” 

“And now I am,” she said, sticking her tongue out. 

Kai huffed, folding his arms. “You could have just asked for it,” he pouted. “I was almost done.” He glanced up and his eyes landed on Lloyd who hadn’t moved, his feet glued to the ground. 

His face brightened and he waved ecstatically. “Hey, Lloyd! Come help us vandalize your table!” 

“Don’t yell!”Jay hissed, looking panicked, and glancing around, his shoulders hunching. “W-we’ll g-get caught!” 

“Relax dude,” Kai said, raising an eyebrow and smirking a little. “It was already vandalized and the school left it. We’re just… adding some flair to said vandalization.” 

“Are you coming?” Zane asked and Lloyd jumped a little, not having realized the other boy had been standing next to him. 

He looked back at the table as Cole paused his doodling long enough to shove an entire muffin the size of his fist into his mouth, making Kai laugh so hard he fell off the bench. 

“Yeah,” he said, something expanding in his chest making him feel elated. “Yeah, I’m coming.” 

  
  
  
  


________________

  
  
  
  
  


When he got home his mom hugged him and he nearly forgot to hug her back. 

“How was school, sweetie?” 

He looked at her. “I think…” his brow furrowed for a moment but then the elated feeling in his chest returned and he bit back the smile he couldn’t quite keep down. 

“I think I met some friends.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  


___________________

  
  
  
  


Wu watched the group as they left the school, surrounding Lloyd and effectively blocking him from the gazes of the other students, as they waited with him for his bus to arrive. 

A small smile came onto his face as they laughed, one of them leaning into Lloyd for support as they cackled at something another had said. There were five of them, each drawn to their natural colours, whether they were aware of it or not. 

“There you are,” he murmured softly, the smile on his face, hidden beneath his beard. 

He had spent so much time looking for them, it had never occurred to him that they would simply find Lloyd on their own. 

Destiny was like that, he supposed. 

With a final nod, he hopped off the building and headed back to his ship. 

  
  
  
  
  


____________________

  
  
  
  
  


Lloyd slipped his shoes off and made his way to his uncle’s kitchen, socked feet making hardly a sound as he crossed the wooden floor. He usually didn’t come to the ship on the weekend evenings, but his uncle had mentioned wanting to discuss something with him, so here he was.

He munched on a bagel as he padded forward, mind wandering a bit.

The group had all exchanged numbers during lunch, and he was now part of a group chat for the first time in his life. He had texted them all the way home, and spent most of the night previous night laughing at memes that Kai sent. Talking got easier with every text, and he found his anxiety fading pretty quickly in the face of their genuine desire to involve him. 

It was a good feeling, he thought contentedly. 

He paused with eating his bagel as he reached the kitchen door, leaving it partially in his mouth so he could free up his hands to unzip his sweater, his ninja gi worn underneath. His uncle had only said he had something to talk about, but Lloyd figured he might as well get a couple of hours of training in since he was there anyways. 

There was some movement that caught his eye, and he looked up, expecting to see his uncle sitting in the kitchen, then promptly froze, the world screeching to a halt. 

His bagel hit the ground with a tiny  _ thud _ , and his five friends looked up at him from where they sat at the table at the sound. 

“Oh. Hey, Lloyd,” Cole said casually, before looking back at his phone. Jay and Kai waved; Zane offered him a smile; and Nya gave him a loose salute, without taking her legs off the table. 

“Uh…” Lloyd said. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND WE'RE DONE! :'D 
> 
> I'm gonna miss this one I think lol 
> 
> THANKS TO Y'ALL'S FOR STICKING AROUND FOR THE END! 
> 
> The ending's kinda abrupt, and this chapter's a little short, but I liked that particular spot for an ending cause I like to think I'm funny lsdkfmasdf 
> 
> HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY, GO BE AMAZING! 
> 
> Thanks for reading! >:D !

**Author's Note:**

> Drop me a comment if ya like >:3


End file.
